Arab al-Fuqara
Place in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine
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Arab al-Fuqara (Arabic: عرب اÙÙÙراء) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Haifa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947â1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 10, 1948.[2] At that time, the land records of the village consisted of a total area of 2,714 dunams, of which 2,513 were owned by Jews, 15 owned by Arabs, and the remaining 186 dunams being public lands.
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Arab al-Fuqara
عرب اÙÙÙراء/اÙØ´ÙØ® ØÙÙ | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: Sheikh Helu, p.n[1] | |
1870s map .jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map .jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Arab al-Fuqara (click the buttons) | |
  Arab al-Fuqara Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 32°27â²08â³N 34°54â²21â³E | |
| Palestine grid | 140/206 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Haifa |
| Date of depopulation | April 10, 1948[2] |
| Area | |
⢠Total | 15 dunams (1.5 ha; 3.7 acres) |
| Population (1945) | |
⢠Total | 310[4][5] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Expulsion by Yishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Hadera[6] |
Location
The village was located 42 km southwest of Haifa, south of Wadi al-Mafjar and northwest of Hadera, in a flat, sandy area.[6]
History
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described a local maqam for Sheikh Helu here, and noted a few adobe houses near, which were not noticed in the official [Government] lists.[7] The maqam belonged to al-Sheikh Muhammad al-Helu, one of the ancestors of the tribe in its current location.[8]
British Mandate era
The Arab villagers were descendants of a section of the al-Balawina Bedouin tribe, whose primary territory was near Beersheba.[6] The area was generally swampy and malarial, and this limited population growth until the mid-1920s.
The gradual and legal expansion of the Jewish town Hadera reduced the free public land available to the Arab villagers, until only a thin strip of land between Hadera and Wadi al-Mafjar was retained (15 dunams),[6] where the land was considered non-cultivable.[9]
The village population in the 1945 statistics was 310, all Muslims.[4][5]
1948 and aftermath
On 6 April 1948, the Haganah implemented a new policy for the coastal plains, namely of clearing the whole area of its Arab inhabitants.[10] On 10 April, the villagers of Arab al-Fuqara, together with the villagers of Arab al-Nufay'at and Arab Zahrat al-Dumayri, were ordered to leave the area.[11]
Following the 1948 war, the area was incorporated into the State of Israel and the village's land is now part of the northwestern area of Hadera.[6]